PERTH AMBOY — At her state of the city speech Tuesday night, Mayor Wilda Diaz predicted an “economic turnaround” for this city of nearly 50,000 — even as it continues to mend the damage caused last fall by Hurricane Sandy.

But Diaz, who won re-election last November following a hotly contested race, laid out an optimistic view of the city’s economic future Tuesday. She announced that Veridian Partners, a Colorado-based development company, closed its purchase of 100 acres of land along the Arthur Kill on Jan. 15.

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“I assure you,” Diaz added. “I have made every effort to promote and encourage that these future hires are residents from Perth Amboy.”

Diaz also gave an update on the city’s Sandy recovery efforts. Initial infrastructure repairs have been supported in part by a $1.7 million Coastal Protection Grant from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection that the city received right before Sandy hit, Diaz said.

“Beach replenishment has been completed and work is ongoing to repairs to the bulkheads,” Diaz said. “We will soon address the damages to the walkways, the marina, the piers and the beachfronts.”